EYES ΟΝ THE PRIZE

AS FORMULA ONE SOARS IN POPULARITY, THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION MAX VERSTAPPEN SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN

- SEAN GREGORY

MAX VERSTAPPEN IS GIGGLING LIKE A THIRD-GRADER while crashing a toy truck. The planet's top Formula One driver, who's won three straight world championships and crushed all comers during the 2023 season, is on the Austin campus of Oracle, the lead sponsor for his Red Bull racing team, in mid-October. As part of his responsibilities, Verstappen is pinballed from event to event, where he and his teammates must glad-hand Oracle employees and customers a few days before the United States Grand Prix, a regular stop on the F1 schedule that includes races in 20 countries. It's the sort of stuff Verstappen, who's happiest speeding more than 200 m.p.h. down a track, can grow tired of, fast.

The day's organizers have baked in a little childlike fun for the drivers, setting up a track on a grass field so Verstappen and his mates can race remote-controlled trucks. What was supposed to be friendly competition, however, has quickly devolved into a race to see who can inflict the most damage. At one point, Verstappen pushes his vehicle straight into a tire blockade, sending the top cover spiraling into the air. He then keeps driving the damaged car, which skitters around like a headless chicken.

Even during this ridiculous exhibition, Verstappen is looking for an edge. He stands atop a van, so he can view more of the track below. "It just comes natural to me to start thinking about these little advantages," he says the next day, during an interview in the Red Bull hospitality area at the Circuit of the Americas, the site of the F1 race. "I like to win."